Can You Save Money With Dollar Shave Club Razors?

Before each weekly trip to buy groceries and household goods, I ask each family member if they have any wants or needs. When I did this before this past weekend’s shopping excursion, my son answered me with two items; Toaster Strudel and razor blades. As I wrote it down, he reminded me that he had a Gillette Mach 3 razor.

At Walmart, I found the wanted razor blades in a package of 5 blades for about $10. That’s $2 for each small unit comprised of plastic and 3 small metal blades. The cost wasn’t a shock, as I’ve been buying razor blades for years. But something just snapped, the price of the blades really irritated me. I knew the shaving industry had us right where they wanted us. If my son wanted the clean shaven look he desired, he had to have the razors. But is there a way to save some money doing so?

I’ve seen ads on the internet for Dollar Shave Club, and wondered if it could save us some money. I decided to check it out. From their website, here’s how it works:

Sign up for the desired level of service:

The Humble Twin : dual blade razors, 5 cartridges a month at a cost of $1 + $2 shipping, or $3 a month.

The 4X : 4 blade razors, 4 cartridges a month at a cost of $6 (Free shipping) per month

The Executive: 9 blade razors, 4 cartridges a month at a cost of $9 (Free shipping per month)

Each month a new set of cartridges comes in the mail

Customers able to change service level at any time.

The lifespan of a single blade is a mysterious thing. Many men go by feel, changing out a blade when it feels like it’s dull. Some go by the calendar, replacing their blade every several weeks, or maybe even on the first of the month. With any level of service from The Dollar Shave Club, one could change blades every week.

I decided to give Dollar Shave Club a try and see how the razors stack up against the Gillette Mach 3. I currently use an electric razor, but my son happens to have a spare Mach 3 handle I can borrow. Here are the rules of my experiment:

Signup for the 4X Dollar Shave Club Service at a cost of $6 a month.

Purchase a package of Gillette Mach 3 cartridges.

Alternate blades by using a Dollar Shave Club blade for a week, then a Mach 3. Then repeat.

I’ll be making some detailed notes as to how each blade works initially, and how fast they dull. The goal is to shine a light on whether men can save money with Dollar Shave Club, or whether they really need to pay store price for cartridges to be silky smooth.

Stay tuned for the results!!!!

Do you use Dollar Shave Club? What do you think the outcome of my experiment will be?

About the author

Brock Kernin

2 Comments

My guy was dead set on loving Dollar Shave Club. The initial package was great. The handles are sturdy, but it’s the cartridges that ended up being subpar. He first tried the 4X for a two months and noticed that the shave wasn’t as close as he was used to with his old razor. He upgraded to the Executive for a month but even then, the shave was so bad that he was cutting himself. He sent photos and an explanation to Dollar Shave Club customer service and they refunded 2 months, which was nice.

He decided that at about $2-$3/cartridge, Gillette Fusion ones from Sam’s Club are a better quality, although a bit more expensive than Dollar Shave Club.